Trans Am Meetings Go Well!

Wow! What a week it has been. We met in Lima with the Trans Am Committee. This is comprised of indigenous leaders from the 6 countries of the Amazon Region. Many things were discussed. Meetings were long (aren’t they all), but with a wealth of information.

Dr. Dan Rickett spoke on Partnerships and explained what they are and what they aren’t especially in a Christian context. So many foreign missionaries enter into indigenous areas and impose their agenda on the indigenous without ever even consulting with them and asking what their needs are or what they would like to see in their futures. They control everything and the indigenous just politely say “yes” because that’s how they are, non confrontational. The foreigner teaches like they would in their own culture and think that contextualization is putting something into Spanish. Very enlightening information.

Empowerment centers were also a subject of discussion with Phil Goddard leading those discussions. We are getting closer and closer to make them a reality. So excited to see the possibilities and making this dream come true for our indigenous brothers. Many ideas of what to be taught and how to make them truly a partnership venture between the 3 waves of missions. Property possibilities are on the horizon as well.

A new team has been formed for South America Alteco. So far there are 6 of us: Irma Espinoza, Juan Carlos and Zulema Sanchez, Ken and I and Elmer Terrazas. There are so many things that will be accomplished by this team in the future. There is a list of things already in the works.

We also had the privilege of celebrating our anniversary (cake and all) with our indigenous brothers and the whole South American team. Thanks for making it memorable! One we'll never forget.

We are so excited to see how God has already answered so many prayers and is opening up so many doors. He is the one doing these great and amazing things for the Amazon Region!

Leaving is Bittersweet

Today we left Yurimaguas. It was a bittersweet time. It’s always great to reconnect with friends, but it’s hard to hear of the struggles. Before we left we asked that you pray for some fallen leaders. The update on that request is a follows; one leader repented and was restored, one lost face and left the jungle altogether and is somewhere in Lima and the other left his wife and is now living with another younger woman somewhere out of the Shawi area. Please continue to pray for them even though we haven’t divulged their names. Also pray for the other leaders that remain faithful but could so easily be tempted by the enemy as is the case with anyone wanting to follow the will of God.


Pray also that rain will come before the annual conference in January or it will be very difficult for many to arrive. The river is quite low. Rainfall has been sparse. It seems to have gone all to Colombia where they are experiencing floods and the rain continues to fall and say it will through April.

Pray for us as we continue to travel back to Lima.

In Yurimaguas

We arrived without incident in Yurimaguas. The highway over the mountain was unobstructed and the driver drove at a good speed. We however arrived to rain. It started out as sprinkles but within about 30 minutes we got downpours throughout the night. The good thing was that there wasn’t an air conditioned room so the rain at least help us stay cool.


We were able to visit Pancho and the family or at least the part that is left living here. Tarsila and her family (she now has a daughter) are living about 1 ½ hours from here. Bastiluz is now living with her uncle in Lima and has a job as a nanny. Well, kids everywhere grow up.

It feels very strange being in Yurimaguas. When we left in April our heartstrings were very attached and it was so hard to leave. Now it really doesn’t feel like we belong in so many ways. Our friendships remain intact, but it just feels totally different. God is helping us get some sort of closure to move on the the next step He has prepared for us. We really aren’t sure what He may require of us but we are ready.

Pray for us this week as we reconnect and say goodbye, too.

Finally warmth!!

We spent the last couple of days in Lima getting some necessary things accomplished. Got to meet with Irma Espinoza and Joey and Suzanne Johnson (and of course meet Oakley).It great to be back in Lima. Alot of things have changed in just a short 6 months. They even put a traffic light right outside the hotel and they are cracking down on jaywalkers with a fine of around $30. Watch where ya step!

Today we finally made it to Tarapoto and it is 90+ degrees and absolutely feels wonderful. We LOVE the heat and the warm tropical breezes. It's been great reconnected with friends here. We only stay one night and head over to Yurimaguas. Not my favorite city, but some of my favorite people live there....the Chayahuita (Shawi). We are looking forward to catching up with leaders. Oscar Pua and Jesus Pua are coming to town so we can talk with them. We miss having face to face time with them, however, we faithfully keep in touch by phone. Nice that they have a phone in their village.

Please pray for safety as we head over the mountain in the morning. You all celebrate Thanksgiving and winter and we enjoy heat!! We will praying for you all as well as you spend time with family and friends.

Have ticket HOPE to travel

Last night in Quito was quite the challenge. We arrived early enough to get through all the necessary rites of passage (getting boarding passes, checking in luggage, paying airport taxes, and security), however, once we got to our gate there was a loud protest at the neighboring gate. They were LOUD!! Screaming and yelling insued and then came security and police.

It appears that some 20 people were left stranded for at least the whole day (some say they had been there a week, but we were told since 3AM). However long they seemed to have been forgotten by the airlines and they wanted a resolution which is quite understandable. These people were actually threatening to hijack our plane, so the airline started asking people on our flight including us to wait until the morning to fly. We agreed to do so. Then at the very last minute they decided to give the people that had been waiting the vouchers and hotel accomodations instead.

We did make it into Lima although an hour or so late, but safely. Please continue to pray as we move forward this week to Yurimaguas. Thanks!!

Week in Quito

Quito, Ecuador appears to be a beautiful city with its mixture of colonial and modern. It would have been much nicer if it had been sunny. 95% of our time touring various places with our guides, Carlos and Becki Pinto was spent dodging raindrops. There is so much rich history in the city. One of the highlights the second day was going to a local church. Carlos spoke and we were invited to stay and eat lunch with the church body as they celebrated their 29th year. It was great to be able to fellowship with other brothers and sisters. After that, we headed up to “la mitad del mundo” (the middle of the world. That is where the equator is. Of course we had our photo taken there as all good tourists would do.

On Monday, we took a bus (which was really quite nice) 5 hours to Shell. There is a lot of missionary history there. That of course is where the Saints used to live when Nate Saint and 4 other missionary men went in to make contact with the Waorani tribe. The Indigenous Conference started on Tuesday morning with worship and prayer. Again it’s always amazing to have this time with other believers and realizing that one day we will forever be able to be together and praise our Father. There were 60 participants (men and women). A speaker from each of the 3 waves of missions (foreigner, national and indigenous) had time to share. Subjects such as alliances, leadership roles and churches doing missions were presented. There was also a time for church reports and then evaluation on the progress or lack thereof spiritually. It was a time to be transparent so that solutions could truly be sought.

Becki and I were able to, along with local pastor’s wife, Sofia, to have time to share with the women in a relaxed setting. After introductions, the women began to share some of their struggles with us. Many spiritual questions were also asked. Praise God that all the answers come from His Word. We also were able to help out in the kitchen which was fun!

On the last day we had a cultural presentation night. It was fun watching groups sing, dance and show some different cultural things.

On our way out we stopped to take a tour of the Saint house which has been turned into a museum and see the airport where all the airplanes go into the jungle.

All in all it was a great week. Now onto Lima for the second leg of the trip.Thank you all for praying, please keep up the good work!

Quito Ecuador

Friday night late we made it into Quito. Customs was fairly easy. PTL!! Saturday we spent walking in the rain and touring the colonial part of the city. Carlos and Becki Pinto have been wonderful hosts as well as the hosts at the GMU guesthouse. Quito is a beautiful city, but it would be nice to see it without rain. Sunday we went to a local church and worshipped there. They invited us to stay for lunch and the fellowship was wonderful. Just imagine how it will be in Heaven all together in worship and fellowship.

Sunday afternoon we were taken to the Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world) and stepped on the equator. Very cool!!

Today we leave for Shell and the indigenous conference. Please pray for safety in travel (mountain road) and for wisdom once we get there. We will give photos and details when we return.

Off to Where it is Warm

Tomorrow is the day. Please pray for great flights and hopefully on time! A missionary family with HCJB will be meeting us in Quito tomorrow night as we land. We'll be able to spend a couple of days there and they we will all drive down to Shell for the Indigenous Conference.

Specific prayer requests:

Travel safety in the air and on the road
Wisdom in teaching at the conference
Travels back into Peru and to see the Chayahuita once again to talk about the projects that we are partnering with them on.

We will send photos and more information as we can. Thank you all for your support and prayers.

On The Go Again

We have had a few months to concentrate on family and friends. More importantly we have had time to reflect and refocus on what God has planned for us. The future looks brighter than ever! There are many exciting things happening!

We will be in Quito, Ecuador starting this Friday, November 12 through November 19th. We will attend a meeting with various indigenous leaders there. It will be a time to encourage, listen and teach. Please keep this in prayer.

After this we head to Peru. We have some important meetings there, but we will head to Yurimaguas to see our Chayahuita friends there. There are several projects in the works with them at this time and we are hoping to go to the next level on some business endeavors.

God is GOOD!!

God is so good!! This transition has not been an easy one, however, God has blessed us continuously. We are so thankful for all the great, loyal friends that we have both here and in the Amazon Region. 

Recently we discovered that many of our native brothers have access to Skype of all things. So, almost on a daily basis we are able to see them and talk to them. Not quite as great as being with them, however, it sure is wonderful!

It's hard to believe that August is more than half over. We are preparing for the upcoming trips in the fall. We are truly looking forward to being in several places with our indigenous brothers and sisters. Some places will be new for us, but we will be going to see our Chayahuita friends and family, too. Yippee!! We talk with them very often by phone and email so we know things that are taking place to be able to pray for the constantly. 

Please keep us in prayer as we continue to raise our support. God is faithful and He provides. Thank you all that have and are supporting us through you finances as well as prayer.

Chayahuita Praise

Ken talked with Oscar Pua day before yesterday and he is very excited with all that is going on in the region. Nueva Vida just finished a 3 week long seminar training Sunday School Teachers. He said that many came from nearby villages to take advantage of this time. Oscar said this was a great encouragement to them all.

Jesus Pua has been in Pucallpa. He helped out his mother-in-law with care before, during and after the operation that she had to remove a tumor in her belly. Then he also attended CAMIT session 2 for cross cultural training. His desire is to go outside of Peru and reach other indigenous with the Gospel.

Please continue to pray for the spiritual leaders. The enemy is really on the prowl. Pray for spiritual strengthening and faithfulness.

Where in the World are we?

Many of you may think we have fallen off the face of the earth. Rest assured that we have not. This month has been a very busy one. Since the Alteco meetings we have taken time to spend with family and catching up. We spent some time with Ken's brother and his family in Florida then headed to Georgia to see my son, Tom and his family.

We are now in Dallas with my family. My youngest niece recieved her master's degree today Tomorrow my sister and I will go to see my dad in the hospice care. Then Ken and I will finally head back to Colorado. Please pray for our safety.

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Renewed!

Alteco, as usual, was a blessing and a couple of weeks of being renewed. The first week was filled with time with indigenous sharing what has been happening in their necks of the woods. The are amazing men! There was plenty of time to fellowship and chat at meals.

The second week with the conference and sessions of learning were empowering. Our pastor, Rick Anderson and his wife, Becky came for the week and it was great to spend the time with them at night chatting. Many things are in the works for this coming year.

Please continue to pray for us as we travel and continue raising support that is needed to continue in this fantastic ministry God has called us to.

Please pray as we travel.

We are so excited to see what God has for ALTECO this year. So many things are happening in the Amazon Basin and very quickly. It is wonderful to be where God is truly working and at mach speed.

Pray for safety as we travel to the conference, for the indigenous coming from many different countries of South America, for the speakers and attendees.  We will keep you posted with all the great things God will show us all during this time.

Romans 15:20a But I have always tried to preach where people have never heard about Christ.

The Truth Be Told

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Elvis and Jesus Together again in the Amazon

Thank you all for your prayers for the RELENAP meetings in Yurimaguas. There were 46 attendees. The following tribes were represented: Chayahuita, Achuar, Aguaruna, Quechua San Martin, Machiguenga, Ticuna, Shipibo and Ashaninka. This was a time to help all understand the differences between dependency and interdependency and empowerment. Not only were there times with speakers (Irma Espinoza, Elvis Shantiori, Jairo Sangama, and Ken) but times of learning with games and of course time to eat and have fellowship.

There was a great turnout by the Chayahuita leadership. Oscar and Jesus stayed for the meetings and Jesus will head to Pucallpa to help his mother in law get to the hospital for her operation and then go on to attend CAMIT.

Jesus and Elvis

Please Pray

The last week we have been able to spend a lot of time with Jesus and his family. His mother-in-law, Dominga was brought here from Nueva Vida because she has a tumor in her abdomen. It took a week to do sonograms, blood work and get results. Fortunately it appears to not be cancerous but it is quite large and she looks about 6 months pregnant with the protrusion. She will be sent to Pucallpa to be operated on since they have better facilities there and she can recuperate at Swiss Mission. Dominga’s husband, Roque, also we have eye surgery.

This family is truly amazing. They shared with us that they lost their oldest son just days before he was due to go to Pucallpa to study at Swiss Mission in 2006. Day before yesterday one of their daughters lost her youngest son (3 mos. old) to sickness. Through all of this they are resting in the Lord. They are not complaining at all but are asking for us to pray for them. Please uphold them in prayer with us.

To the Chacra

Saturday, I went to the Marta’s “chacra” with her. She has grown quite an assortment of plants. She has yucca (manioc), sweet potatoes, green beans, plantains, papaya, passion fruit and some watermelon. Fortunately it was not too hot. Even so working the garden always makes one sweat. She was gone from December until last week so there was a lot of growth to deal with, but at the end of a couple of hours more than half of the undesirable growth had been cleared. She pulled up the yucca she needed and replanted the branches. It will be another 8 ½ months before it will be ready for harvesting again. After pulling several yucca plants up, she left one for Habakuk, Guina and Clinger. The pulled and pulled to no avail. Even with all three of them pulling and pushing the root refused to give. Finally Habakuk found a spear and was able to loosen it up and up came some very big yucca. Marta got a kick out of it all since with one big tug she could have pulled it up.

Like a Roaring Lion

While many in the US think that our enemy is Russia or some foreign power, the Chayahuita know full well who he is. The devil and his crew are scurrying about trying to throw all off guard. We had a conversation with a health worker from a village in the south. He said that his life and the life of his family have been threatened. He and his family regularly sing praises to God and the local witch doctors do not like it. There apparently are 2 that live very close to his village and one actually lives in the village and is also the appointed primary school teacher. Under the influence of ayahuasca (a hallucinogen) they “prophesy” and see visions. He was told by one of the witch doctors that he could shoot him and see if his God was real. The health worker said that he was not afraid to die because he would be in the presence of God. This witch doctor, infuriated by the praises that are sung, even cranks up his music to try to drown it out. Many won’t even talk about this subject because they are so afraid that the demons will overhear them and it will get back to the witch doctors and they will pay the price.


The health worker also shared with us how a Pentecostal group has come into the area and from his perspective all they do is jump and scream. There is no real praise going on. He and his wife have a daughter that has cerebral palsy and is 8 years old. She started having convulsions and one of the pastors from this church said she was sick because of the sins of the parents. He was flabbergasted that he would say this and offer no other answers. They then went to the hospital to see if something could be done. After a few months the only thing they could suggest was to put her on anti convulsion medicines. She has not had convulsions since and is even able to sit up and is developing.

Visits and Revelations

It has been a very interesting few days. We continue to have many visitors which is such an encouragement to us. This weekend we had the pleasure of having Lucho, Aurora and family stop by. The last time we saw Aurora she looked as though she didn’t have much time left here on earth. She was quite sick. Even though she is confined to a wheelchair, that sweet smile and spirit from before shined through. Lucho started talking about how changed Soledad has become since the massacre in Bagua. Many in the community have believed and accepted the salvation Christ offers them. Even a nearby bedroom community of Naranjal has seen an increase from one family to 10. Where the church for the last few years has had only maybe 15 or show up now the church is filling up once again.

One the other hand the enemy is also working overtime. Lucho shared with us about a group with extreme doctrinal teachings congregating close by. They are teaching many falsehoods. They are saying that the men need to leave their wives and go to the hills to pray taking verses out of context. They are also ordaining young immature teens to be pastors. Their leaders are also “prophesying” that several community residents are going to die and when.

Please continue to pray for the village of Soledad. Pray for the pastors: Abelardo, Francisco, Luis and Simon.

Empowerment and Partnership

Ken ran into Inocente from Soledad this weekend. He was in town to take another laboratory course at the hospital. He has taken many courses on his own and has now become a laboratory tech and is putting his microscope to great use. Ken asked him how many deaths there have been of malaria in Soledad. He said there have been no deaths in years since they are able to be treated quicker since they have a microscope.

He started out as a simple health worker in his village, but became increasingly concerned as case after case of malaria showed up in Soledad. It would take over a week to get results back from blood tests which meant the delay in treatment for those affected. He really wanted to find a way to acquire a microscope and learn how to use it. He approached us about it. He said the village was willing to come up with the money. We told him we would check around to see where the microscope could be bought at a reasonable price and how he could receive training. Other missionaries in Peru that we talked to for leads doubted that Soledad would come up with the money for this purchase and told us that we should at least provide half of the funds for them. We had faith that the money would be provided by Soledad alone. Sure enough they decided to sell a couple of bulls to raise the money to buy the microscope and receive training. When a Peruvian national heard about this funds were donated to provide transportation to and from Lima for his training. Since that time about 6 years ago, he has also taken it upon himself to train other Chayahuitas to use the microscope. Other villages have also bought microscopes so they too can have faster results.

Changes and Growing

As things in our ministry change it is exciting to know that it is GOD that directs our paths. He allows the bumps in the road to cause us to remember to rely on Him and nobody else. We have been truly blessed with being able to see some of the results of our time with the Chayahuita here in Peru. They are realizing that they can make their own decisions and while the foreigner can offer many things they are not the ones that will control what they as a tribe do. They are responsible for the spiritual welfare of their own people.

There is a renewed sense of urgency of sharing the Gospel and they have been trained to share it in their own heart language and in a culturally relevant way which is causing many to understand for the first time. They are realizing that they have God given talents and gifts to use for His glory the same as the foreigner does and that we are all truly brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Many, with a renewed self esteem, are going ahead and studying past high school. Others are being trained in the business world to start businesses in their own area with their own people. There is for the first time a sense of hope for their future that doesn’t rely on the outside world of the foreigner.

We feel in many ways we have learned so much more than what we have taught. They have shared with us, from their own hearts, that they consider us as one of their own. This makes it more difficult to leave Yurimaguas, but we know they are in good hands. We will still be plenty of contact with the Chayahuita. There are several projects we will continue to be involved with in partnership with them. We will be back often.Ken will remain the Advisor to the tribe, at their request, as well as Advisor to the newly formed Peruvian Indigenous Network.

The hope for the future is that many other indigenous will be able to have this same hope both spiritually and financially. There is a new realization of the importance of the indigenous in the Amazon Basin; however, there is still racial inequality. Hopefully, as the indigenous networks throughout the countries of the Amazon Basin are formed, our indigenous brothers and sisters will be encouraged and realize they are not alone.

Are You Praying?

I hope you are praying a lot for our Chayahuita brothers and sisters. There is a lot of spiritual opposition right now. The conference revived many spiritually and the enemy doesn’t like that at all.

We had heard in Palmiche about people being accused of being witches and then being killed. Elio Soliz was just at the house and was saying that is only getting worse. His former brother in law (from his deceased wife) was killed after being accused. Also there is a former pastor from Nueva Vida who had moved away and taken a second wife in another community that they are saying is a witch and even knows the chants, so there may be some truth in the accusation. Elio is also being accused of paying a witch for revenge for the death of his brother in law which is the furthest thing from the truth. He actually confronted the accuser recently. Pray for truth to prevail in all this chaos.

We also ask for you to pray for the Chayahuita pastors. They are going through some tough spiritual struggles. We have heard of at least 3 spiritual leaders that have fallen into a sinful behavior. One left the ministry altogether, one is being disciplined, and the other we just heard about and we are not sure what the future will hold for him.

On a more positive note, this year at the conference there were a few new villages that attended. One of the ones represented was Santa Maria. This was a catholic stronghold and they threatened evangelicals that stepped inside their community. A pastor, Dionisio Huazanga, felt that God was calling him to go there at any cost. He went and has led at least 5 people to the Lord. These attended and were baptized. He continues to visit and share the Gospel no matter what may happen to him.

Eternal summerland

While most of you are still in winter mode and alot of you with unheard of snow storms, we are enduring, well, loving our eternal summer weather here. We have had a few rain storms but they definitely aren't as frequent as they need to be. It's great when it does rain since it drops the temps from the 100s to the 80s. Nice for sleeping.

Next year Peru will elect a new president and so this year is going to be a noisy political one. Please pray for wisdom for those that vote. (By the way voting is obligatory here. If you don't vote you get fined). There are some extremists that would love to be put in charge of the country.

Continue to pray for us as we tie up loose ends here and say our farewells to friends and family. It is hard even though we will still be working with the Chayahuita we won't be with them daily. They have taught us so much in the last years.

Strike a Bust

Well, fortunately the strike turned into nothing more than a demonstration for 3 hours. There were probably about 500 people that turned up. Hopefully the government won't turn a deaf ear and cause another indefinite strike. We'll keep you posted. Pray, too, for all the indigenous in Peru. Rumor has it that the government may be taking away the bilingual education and make everyone learn in Spanish only. That is not a good thing for culture conservation for sure. This would mean eventually the written languages would die out.

Yurimaguas hasn’t changed much since we left in January. The rivers are up, which is a good thing.

It had been raining while we were gone, however since we returned it hasn’t. We had a 104 degree day yesterday and that was in the shade.

The grass is almost knee high in places with the rain and the fact that the lawnmower died. We had a mechanic look it over and bought the parts he said needed to be replaced. After replacing all the parts the engine just smokes and nothing more. That will need to be resolved as the yard looks like the house is abandoned which is not good around here with squatters just waiting to hop onto property.

The next couple of weeks will be spent visiting and preparing for the RELENAP (Peruvian Indigenous Network). We still aren’t sure how many groups will be represented nor how many people will show up. Looks like I (Terri) will be the cook for however many show up. Pray that the word gets around to many so the network can grow.

Strike Called for the 13th

Well, we hope this isn't a repeat of last year's strike. We don't have all the details yet. Pancho called from Yuri to tell us a strike will start on the 13th and wasn't sure if it was indefinite or not. He just wanted to make sure we got there before it started. Guess the first thing we'll do is buy lots of food to store just in case. Pancho didn't tell us what the strike is even about.

On a more positive note, Ken and I went to Lamas today to visit with the manager and trainers at Oro Verde. The next phase of the cacao production will start soon. There are so many possibilities open to the Chayahuita in this venture. One of the trainers told us that one of the Chayahuita has been staying there and working to learn all about the production of cacao from planting to harvest. Exciting times!!

Tarapoto We Are Here!

We are finally in Tarapoto. One more leg of the trip to get home. They have had some good rains and that sure adds up quickly. You can see the evidence in the photo above with the river spilling out of its banks.

Tomorrow we are off to Oro Verde to chat with the men that are training the Chayahuita. We will get all the info we need to let the guys know when the next training will be and when they can get seeds to plant in their now prepared land. We will also see if the new company is open that buys "Sacha Inchi" which is a jungle peanut with lots of good omega 3 oils.

Then we hope to arrive in Yurimaguas on Wednesday. Please pray for a safe trip across the mountains. We will be glad to get out of suitcases at least for 7 weeks.

Sacha Inchi Seeds

Blessings Abound!

First, thank you all for praying for our trip. The Brazilian Consulate gave us visas for 5 years! That is a true blessing.

After we got our visas we made reservations on a "speed boat" When I heard that I automatically thought of a ski type boat but maybe bigger. It was a wonderful surprise when we arrived at the port and saw that it was very much like a bus but for the water. There were padded reclining seats, windows with curtains and a dvd player (which we could've done just fine without). At breakfast we were given a roll with avocado on it and at lunch rice and chicken. It was fairly comfortable alot more so than a peque peque for sure!

Inside of boat Golfinho

We arrived in Santa Rosa, Peru (end of the line) and were met back a member of a church in Brasil who helped us across the Amazon to the Brazilian side. There we were met by the lead pastor and taken to the associate pastor's house. Leonidas and Edmeia were wonderful hosts. From the very beginning they felt like family. They have 2 sons: Samuel and Israel. We were shown around Tabatinga, Brazil and then we toured Leticia, Colombia. We had a great time with them.

We even got to go to youth night at their church. That was an experience! Lights and music Brazilian style praising God!

On Sunday, we took a boat into another town on the river and walked to an indian village. A conference was held by 20 chiefs of 5 different tribes. Many were invited to listen to their cries for help. They need medical help and training in many areas. Many are dying from Malaria and Hepatitis and yet the government has not provided any help to them. Without help soon their tribes could be extinguished. Please pray for the indigenous in this area that the government will listen and let help come in with humanitarian aide.

In Iquitos

We are in Iquitos. It was very muggy when we arrived yesterday! Today it is raining and hopefully will refresh the air a bit.

We applied for our Brasilian visas today. Please continue to pray that all will be in order. We hope to leave by boat on the 29th and return to Iquitos on the 4th. Pray for safety. We will write more on the 5th. Internet here is extremely slow.

Please Pray!

Sorry that I can't give you many details at the moment. We just ask that you will keep us in prayer as we travel to Brasil. Pray that the "enemy" will the thwarted and not allowed to interfere and for safety. Thank you very much!

Palmiche Revisited

Celina in the front

I will probably never forget the words of the Palmiche pastor's wife, Celina, in 2004. As we were in a gathering of women she said to me, " Don't let this be the first and only time you visit us." That promise was finally fulfilled in 2010. Palmiche has changed considerably since then. They even have electricity for 3-4 hours a night. While Ken and I walked to the church the first night, we even happened to look into a house and saw a flat screen tv. Boy, the times they are a changin'.

This year was quite different that the first time and far more people attended the conference. I'm not sure the exact number of attendess at this point, but the church was so packed out that there was overflow into the outside. The men's session was very well attended with at least 100 men each session. There were 200+ women and 150+ kids plus a new believers' class of 120 young men. Ken, along with 3 other men (2 from Grace Church and 1 from Swiss Mission) taught the men. There were 5 sessions a day for them as they rotatd the teaching between them. There were 3 of us teaching the women (me, 1 from Grace and 1 from Swiss Mission). We only had 2 sessions of 2 hours each day. Luz taught all the morning sessions since she had more to cover. We took the afternoon sessions. It was great hearing that many women sing and watching them learn from Scripture and of course, do some handcrafts.

During the conference, I was able to train Jesus Pua from Nueva Vida to be an optometrist of sorts. We donated the I-See kit from I-Tec to him. This will serve as a source of income for him as he travels as the tribe's evangelist and it will also help open doors to villages that have not been open before. He caught on quite easily. By the end of the 2 session training he looked like a pro. He was able to sell 20 pairs of glasses in him spare time at the conference.

We really enjoyed just reconnnecting with our Shawi family. It was hard this time around trying to explain to them that we won't be living in Yurimaguas. Our new "task" is helping out ALTECO and working with all the tribes of the Amazon Basin. Many have nobody to encourage them or help them learn to dream. Ken has been named one of the advisors to the newly formed Peruvian Indigenous Network and he is still the advisor to the Shawi. There are many exciting things in the future. We won't be deserting our Shawi brothers and sisters just not with them as often. It is time to let them put into practice all the leadership skills they have learned over these last 7 years. They have grown and great things are just around the corner for them as they take more and more responsibility for their own future spiritually and physically. Please continue to pray for them during this growing and transitional time.